Craig Conroy’s forlorn face while he watched Jarome Iginla speak to the media one last time before leaving Calgary didn’t mask his emotions.

“I was sad today to think, ‘This is it,’ ” Conroy said later.

It was also somewhat poetic that Conroy — whose close friendship with Iginla is well-documented — stood in front of his pal’s old stall in the dressing room while talking about the trade which sent the club’s captain packing his bags for Pittsburgh.

To nobody’s surprise, though, Conroy found an upside to the fact Iginla was dealt away to the Pittsburgh Penguins Wednesday night.

“It’s almost like you get your friend back,” said Conroy, who’s now special assistant to the GM and helping in a coaching role. “When you’re on the other side in management, with all the other stuff going on, we kept our distance from each other this year.

“I’ll cheer for him the rest of the way. Any team he was gonna go to, I was going to cheer for. I cheer for all my friends.

“Iggy and I will be friends forever.”

Iginla and Conroy were teammates for parts of nine seasons.

They were linemates during their best seasons, too, including the 2001-02 season in which they were two-thirds of the 100-goal trio that also included Dean McAmmond.

They almost always sat beside each other in the room, their children are friends, they vacation and golf together.

In fact, it was Conroy who passed the captaincy to Iginla prior to the 2003-04 season.

“I knew it needed to be done, that’s the business side of hockey, and when it’s done, you feel bad,” Conroy said. “You reflect on all the things, all the time, and to not be able to (win a title) is the hardest thing. If we win a Stanley Cup, then it’s a different story and maybe we’re not in this situation now.

“The one thing we always talked about, especially when I first got here, was winning the Stanley Cup,” Conroy said. “Obviously, neither of us were able to do it as players in Calgary, but that’s what I’m hoping he can do in Pittsburgh.”

Thanks to Iginla’s talents, quite a few players had career years. Conroy knows he’s the biggest benefactor.

“He definitely made my career. I came here as a third-line checker and to be able to play with Jarome and have him score a ton of goals and me get some points was huge for my career,” Conroy said. “You get to play with a top player, it makes a world of difference.”

That world of difference wasn’t just on the ice.

“Wonderful person, great guy and then great hockey player,” Conroy said of his buddy. “He came to play every day, just wanted to win, never was about him, always deflected the credit, even though he deserved most of it.

“For him to be in Calgary as long as he did. There should be a statue out front for him.”

That’s the only way Flames fans would see him around the Saddledome for the next while.

“I made him sign me a few autographs,” Conroy said of their goodbyes. “I needed a couple more autographs for charity. I got a couple in, I was so surprised. He laughed and said, ‘Still trying to make money off of me.’

“Other than that, I think he’s looking forward to getting to Pittsburgh and moving on.”

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Iginla traded: Flames joined at the hip

Craig Conroy’s forlorn face while he watched Jarome Iginla speak to the media one last time before leaving Calgary didn’t mask his emotions.

“I was sad today to think, ‘This is it,’ ” Conroy said later.

It was also somewhat poetic that Conroy — whose close friendship with Iginla is well-documented — stood in front of his pal’s old stall in the dressing room while talking about the trade which sent the club’s captain packing his bags for Pittsburgh.

To nobody’s surprise, though, Conroy found an upside to the fact Iginla was dealt away to the Pittsburgh Penguins Wednesday night.

“It’s almost like you get your friend back,” said Conroy, who’s now special assistant to the GM and helping in a coaching role. “When you’re on the other side in management, with all the other stuff going on, we kept our distance from each other this year.